A tribunal’s dismissal in accordance with applicants’ own submissions warrants no interference.

The petitioners, retired employees of the Irrigation Department, had approached the Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal (KSAT) seeking to have their daily-wage service counted from their initial appointments until retirement and to receive consequential benefits, relying on Netram Sahu v. State of Chhattisgarh and Another.

The KSAT dismissed their applications, referring to its earlier orders dismissing similar applications.

The petitioners challenged that dismissal under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution.

The petition invoked Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution, under which the High Court was asked to review the KSAT’s order.

The judgment did not articulate or apply a substantive rule governing the counting of daily-wage service, nor did it decide the effect of Netram Sahu; that precedent was cited by the petitioners before the KSAT.

The Court’s decision rested on the KSAT order’s basis in the petitioners’ counsel’s submission and on the dismissal of a challenge to a related KSAT order.

The Court noted that the KSAT had disposed of the applications in light of earlier orders dismissing similar applications, and that the petitioners’ counsel had sought disposal on that basis.

It also noted that the related challenge in W.P. No. 202351 of 2022 had been dismissed that day.

In those circumstances, the Court found no ground to entertain the present petition; it did not independently determine whether the petitioners’ daily-wage service should count toward their claimed benefits.

It reserved liberty to the petitioners to apply for payment of gratuity.